Svyzazinvest

INFORMATION DEPARTMENT 

119121 Moscow, 55 Plyushikha St.str.2; tel.: (095) 727-0418,
fax: (095) 727-0475; pr@svyazinvest.ru  

Sberbank of Russia continues to develop its strategic partnership relations as provided for in the General Partnership Agreement signed in May 2002 between the bank and Svyazinvest.

In August 2003 Sberbank of Russia and one of the largest leasing companies in the country, RTK Leasing, signed seven 5-year non-renewable credit agreements with a total credit limit of ? 228.1 mln to finance the purchase of telecom equipment with subsequent transfer to leasing to the following super-regional telecom companies, which are part of the Svyazinvest holding structure: Central Telecom, North West Telecom, Volga Telecom, South Telecommunications Company, Uralsvyazinform, Siberia Telecom, and Far East Telecom. The interest rate on these loan facilities is floating and depends on the turnovers recorded on the accounts of Sberbank with the super-regional telecom companies of Svyazinvest.

Under the above-mentioned investment program RTK Leasing will be purchasing telecom equipment from major global producers, including Siemens, Alcatel, Iskratel, Ericsson, Huawei, Nec, Lucent and a number of others, which should make it possible to raise Svyazinvest’s total line capacity by 2.5 mln.

Sberbank and RTK Leasing have acquired extensive experience in joint financing of programs launched by Svyazinvest holding.  In August 2002 Sberbank extended RTK Leasing seven loan facilities with a total limit of Rub 3.9 bln designed to cover a similar investment program. Implementation of this program made it possible to enter over 1.6 mln new lines into service, which largely contributed to the improvement of the financial indicators of Svyazinvest’s subsidiaries.

The participation of Sverbank and RTK Leasing in this project underscores their support of strategic branches of the Russian economy, willingness to enter into long-term and mutually advantageous relations with reliable and stable partners.